Anthropology is the study of humans and to understand the complexity and depth of humans and their cultures, knowledge from the social and biological science fields as well as the humanities and physical science fields is required.
Anthropologists are generally trained in one of four main areas of expertise; sociocultural anthropology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology and archaeology, with forensic anthropologists usually, if not always, majoring in the biological anthropology field.
Although forensic anthropologists are focused upon the biological field, knowledge of the other anthropology sub-fields are required in order to be an effective tool.
Sociocultural Anthropology.
Involves examining social patterns and practices across cultures mainly in how people live in particular places and how they organize, govern and create meaning. The main concern for sociocultural anthropology is the similarities and differences among societies with attention to race, sexuality, gender, class and nationality.
Archaeology.
Revolves around the study of past people and cultures through the analysis of remains such as artifacts pottery, animal bone fragments, remains of structures as well as architecture and landscapes.
Linguistic Anthropology.
Explores the variety of ways that languages define patterns of communication, define categories of social identity and group membership which in turn determines people who have common cultural representations of their natural social worlds.
Biological Anthropology.
Involves determining how biological and cultural processes work together to shape growth, development and bahaviour as well as investigating human biological origins, variation and evolution. (Fuentes, A. 2010)
It is obvious that biological anthropology, the study of the physical development of the human species, plays an incredibly important role in forensic anthropology. The field of biological anthropology is not classified exactly and contains numerous sub-fields, including:
Palaeoanthropology, the study of fossil evidence regarding human evolution.
Human behavioural ecology, the study of physical and behavioural adaptations of humans to the environment from an evolutionary standpoint.
Paleopathology, the study of diseases, trauma, any nutritional deficiencies or conditions and the morphology found with soft tissue and bones.
Human biology, involves nutrition and medicine but also focuses upon evolution, adaptation and population genetics.
The knowledge of a forensic anthropologist has to be quite extensive and cover numerous related fields due to the combination of both biological anthropology and osteology, both extensive subjects themselves. Knowledge of biomechanics, archaeology and physics are just some of the variable information that a forensic anthropologist must be familiar with alongside the already listed sub-fields of biological anthropology.
Anthropology is the study of humans and to understand the complexity and depth of humans and their cultures, knowledge from the social and biological science fields as well as the humanities and physical science fields is required.
Anthropologists are generally trained in one of four main areas of expertise; sociocultural anthropology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology and archaeology, with forensic anthropologists usually, if not always, majoring in the biological anthropology field.
Although forensic anthropologists are focused upon the biological field, knowledge of the other anthropology sub-fields are required in order to be an effective tool.
Sociocultural Anthropology.
Involves examining social patterns and practices across cultures mainly in how people live in particular places and how they organize, govern and create meaning. The main concern for sociocultural anthropology is the similarities and differences among societies with attention to race, sexuality, gender, class and nationality.
Archaeology.
Revolves around the study of past people and cultures through the analysis of remains such as artifacts pottery, animal bone fragments, remains of structures as well as architecture and landscapes.
Linguistic Anthropology.
Explores the variety of ways that languages define patterns of communication, define categories of social identity and group membership which in turn determines people who have common cultural representations of their natural social worlds.
Biological Anthropology.
Involves determining how biological and cultural processes work together to shape growth, development and bahaviour as well as investigating human biological origins, variation and evolution. (Fuentes, A. 2010)
It is obvious that biological anthropology, the study of the physical development of the human species, plays an incredibly important role in forensic anthropology. The field of biological anthropology is not classified exactly and contains numerous sub-fields, including:
Palaeoanthropology, the study of fossil evidence regarding human evolution.
Human behavioural ecology, the study of physical and behavioural adaptations of humans to the environment from an evolutionary standpoint.
Human osteology, the study of human bones. (El-Najjar, M.Y. et al 1978)
Paleopathology, the study of diseases, trauma, any nutritional deficiencies or conditions and the morphology found with soft tissue and bones.
Human biology, involves nutrition and medicine but also focuses upon evolution, adaptation and population genetics.
The knowledge of a forensic anthropologist has to be quite extensive and cover numerous related fields due to the combination of both biological anthropology and osteology, both extensive subjects themselves. Knowledge of biomechanics, archaeology and physics are just some of the variable information that a forensic anthropologist must be familiar with alongside the already listed sub-fields of biological anthropology.
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